


A New Adventure

by SlayerFest98



Series: The Doctor and the Captain [4]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Adventure & Romance, First Date, M/M, New Planets, awkward Doctor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:14:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26697316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlayerFest98/pseuds/SlayerFest98
Summary: Picking up directly from where Jack stepped through the doors of the TARDIS in "Everything and More", the Doctor takes Jack on their first proper date. As they navigate their new relationship, the Doctor and Jack travel through time and space, learning to be together in a new way and saving some planets in the process.Part 4 of The Doctor and the Captain
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Jack Harkness
Series: The Doctor and the Captain [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/49969
Comments: 7
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story chronicles some of the tings that the Doctor and Jack got up to on their first trip away after the main events of "Everything and More". If you haven't read the previous story, this installment might make more sense if you go back to that one first. As always, thanks so much for reading (but please be patient with my slow writing pace, I am also trying to write a thesis over here!)  
> Enjoy!

As Jack pushed through the doors of the TARDIS and saw the Doctor waiting for him by the console, a brilliant grin spread across his face. God, he had missed this so much. He couldn’t wait to continue exploring the universe with the Doctor and he was equally excited to explore the new relationship that the Time Lord had asked for.

“Where to first, Doc?” he asked excitedly, bounding up the ramp.

The Doctor matched Jack’s grin and began pulling levers and pressing buttons to send them into flight, racing around the console with glee, “How about a leisure planet to start us off?”

Jack dumped his bag on the jump seat and held onto the console as the TARDIS began to lurch into the vortex, “Any particular one in mind? I hear Centuria is nice if you feel like some sunshine.”

“I was thinking,” the Doctor paused dramatically to flick the handbrake off, “Apalapucia!”

The TARDIS rocked and shuddered as she landed, but Jack had braced himself for the impact. He stood and straightened his coat as the Doctor moved to the monitor to check where they had ended up.

"Great name: Apalapucia! Just rolls of the tongue beautifully." The Doctor stared triumphantly at the monitor and said once more with gusto, "Apulapucia!"

Jack walked up to stand next to the Time Lord, brushing a hand down his back suggestively, “Wow, fancy place to take a man on the first date. I could get used to this kind of luxury…”

The Doctor stiffened slightly, turning wide eyes on Jack, “Date? Oh, um, of course… why wouldn’t it be a date, absolutely! Ahem…”

Jack moved away from the Doctor, hands in the air, “Hey, it’s okay Doc. This doesn’t have to be a date; I was just teasing you.”

“No!” the Doctor exclaimed, grasping one of Jack’s hands, “I want it to be a date. Well, at least I think I do. Well, it’s just… it’s been such a long time since I’ve done anything like this. I mean, I’ve taken people to places but that was different. I, uh, don’t know what you expect…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Jack said, running a hand down the Doctor’s arm again, this time more reassuring and less sensual. “I don’t expect anything from you. I may tease you, sure, but I’ll never push you into anything you don’t want. We have all the time in the universe, and this is all new, so we can take it as slow as you want.”

The tenseness in the Doctor’s muscles eased and he breathed out a sigh. He ran a hand through his hair and nodded, “Of course, I know you would never do anything like that. I suppose I’m just a little jumpy. I haven’t been on a date in, well, a very long time. I think I’m quite rusty!”

Jack smiled, leaning against the console, “What about Rose?”

The Doctor looked at him with a sad, wistful smile, “Well, with her I hardly knew I was taking her on dates and trying to impress her until I’d… well… And besides, I knew nothing like that could ever happen with her. It would’ve hurt too much.”

Jack tugged the Doctor closer with their still joined hands and kissed him softly on the cheek, “Well I’m not expecting anything, but if you want to do something, all you have to do is ask. Or you could just go ahead and do it! I’m all for that as well! But I won’t rush you if you don’t…”

He was cut off as the Doctor leaned forward and pressed a brief, close mouthed kiss to Jack’s lips. The Doctor smiled hesitantly at Jack and licked his lips, “Like that?” the Doctor asked coyly.

Jack gave the Time Lord a lopsided grin, “Yeah, just like that.”

Jack kissed the Doctor again, still with closed mouths but slower this time. He breathed in the scent of the Time Lord as he placed unhurried, chaste kisses on the Doctor’s lips. He smelled like a forest after rain, fresh and ancient at the same time, and he tasted like tea, warm and heartening.

Jack pulled away slightly and ran a hand over the Doctor’s cheek reverently, “I can’t believe I’m allowed to do this now. You’re amazing…”

The Doctor stepped away and rubbed the back of his neck flustered. Jack could get used to the sight of him flustered, he was damned adorable like that with the tips of his ears turning slightly pink.

“You can put your bag away in your room if you like,” the Doctor said, clearing his throat and moving around the console. “The TARDIS will show you where it’s ended up, I’m sure it’s around somewhere. And then we can go for a walk to see the mirrored Glasmir Mountains! The sunsets are spectacular!”

Jack smiled as he grabbed his bag and let the TARDIS psychically nudge him towards his old room. It felt glorious to be back.

When Jack found his old room, it was exactly the way he had left it. Clothes were flung over the plush armchair in the corner and the bed was only partially made. Jack was hit with a wave of nostalgia for a simpler time when he and the Doctor had an easy rapport. So much had happened since then to strain their relationship, but Jack hoped it could be like that again someday soon.

He also felt a pang of sadness for Rose when he saw one of her sweaters draped over the bedpost. She would sometimes come to Jack’s room before they went to sleep and, like kids at a slumber party, Jack would tell the most outrageous stories he could think of to try and make Rose blush and giggle. He hoped that, wherever she was in her parallel world, she was okay and happy.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Jack straightened the covers slightly and dumped his duffle on the bed. He would tidy up properly later, Jack thought as he raced back to the console room. There were more important things to do. He felt as though he had been waiting his whole life to go on a date with the Doctor and finally the impossible was happening. Jack was going to cherish every single second.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a long chapter here but I just couldn't find a good place to break it up so I just kept it all as one. Enjoy!

When Jack arrived back at the console room, he found the Doctor shrugging into his overcoat.

“Did you find it?” the Doctor asked.

“Yep, the old girl showed me the way,” Jack replied, patting one of the coral struts of the ship.

Jack only had basic psychic training, but it was enough to feel the TARDIS hum through his mind, apparently pleased that he had returned. Jack thought that she probably never had the chance to reuse rooms that had already been claimed, as most people didn’t return to the TARDIS after they had moved on. It saddened Jack to think of all the empty rooms in the vast ship that had probably been occupied at some point, and got shifted around when their inhabitants didn’t come back. Jack attempted to reassure the TARDIS that he would hopefully be coming back frequently, and the lights in the room seemed to flare with pleasure.

The Doctor looked around at the lights and smiled, “I think she’s glad to have you back! She always did have a soft spot for you.”

It warmed Jack’s heart to know that the Doctor’s precious ship accepted him, and that the man himself seemed just as pleased by the thought that the TARDIS liked him. He considered asking whether the TARDIS would ever show him the Doctor’s room (Jack fervently hoped he would get to see it sometime soon), but he thought that maybe now wasn’t the best time for such salacious teasing, given how nervous the Doctor seemed to be.

The Doctor bounced towards the door and held it open for Jack, who smiled and winked at the Time Lord as he went. The sight that greeted Jack made him gasp with awe. They were standing in a beautiful garden full of lush green topiaries, tinkling fountains filled with amber liquid and an impeccably curated golden lawn. Flowers of every colour could be seen wherever the eye looked, and the pink-purple sky gave the whole scene a beautiful rosy glow. Beyond the lush garden were soaring buildings of gravity defying architecture, and it was only then that Jack realised they were standing on top of a spiralling skyscraper amongst the beautiful spires.

“Welcome to Delarius Prime,” the Doctor announced, moving to stand next to Jack with his hands in his pockets, “This is one of the finest hotels on Apalapucia! Complete with its own greenhouses and game reserves to source the finest delicacies, two water parks, 4D hologram cinemas, a theme park, and more spas, restaurants and bars than you can count! As well as the stunning rooftop pleasure gardens and spectacular views, of course!”

“God, I’ve missed this!” Jack sighed, the beautiful sight taking his breath away. The man next to him knocked the remaining breath out of him. The Doctor looked so beautiful in the afternoon light of the purple-pink sky, his face shining with joy at sharing the wonders of the universe.

Suddenly, the Doctor turned his radiant expression on Jack and held out an arm, “Shall we?”

Jack’s throat went dry at the sight of that dazzling gaze. All he could do was nod and take the Doctor’s arm as they began to walk through the garden. While they walked, the Doctor babbled away happily about all the different species of flora around them, as well as the different alien species they passed on the way. Jack had no idea what he was saying really, but he let the Doctor’s excited voice wash over him and warm his heart. Eventually, they came across a beautiful pavilion of silver and glass in which a band were playing soft music.

Beside the shining pavilion there was a fountain, where the streams of amber liquid were dancing spontaneously to the live music.

“Oh, look at that!” the Doctor exclaimed enthusiastically, pointing at the fountain. “Did you know that there are tiny nano-particles in the water that are programmed to react to the soundwaves generated by the musicians’ instruments? Well… it’s probably not water... but anyway, it means that the fountain dances to the live music in real time! Completely on its own! Brilliant! Basically, it interprets the changes in pitch and tempo and…”

Before the Doctor could launch fully into a long-winded explanation about the nano-particles, Jack grabbed the Doctor’s hand and pulled him over to a bench in front of the dancing fountain.

“Sit with me!” Jack interrupted and seated himself on the bench.

He tugged on the Doctor’s hand to pull him down next to him. The Doctor looked slightly disgruntled at being cut off but allowed himself to be dragged onto the bench. Jack entangled his fingers with the Time Lord’s as they watched the fountain weave and bob to the music, but Jack found that his eyes began wandering towards the Doctor. Even though the fountain was spectacular, how could that compare to the man sitting next to him, with his wild hair that Jack wanted to run his fingers through, his long eyelashes and captivating eyes, the delicate freckles dusting his skin…

“You’re staring, Jack,” the Doctor said dryly, turning to look at the immortal.

Jack winced at being caught but plastered on a dazzling smile, “Just admiring the view…”

The Doctor tugged on his ear lobe awkwardly and chuckled. Tentatively, the Doctor laid his head on Jack’s shoulder and sighed, “This is nice… Isn’t it? It is, right? Well, I think it’s nice… I mean, um…”

Jack kissed the Doctor’s forehead and slid an arm around his skinny waist, chuckling, “Yeah, this is amazing, Doc. More than I ever dreamed…”

They sat there quietly listening to the music and watching the fountain dance. The Doctor seemed to relax into Jack’s shoulder more and more with every breath, his hair tickling the side of Jack’s neck. Those tantalising locks were so close… Well, Jack figured that he was allowed to touch now, so he did what he had always wanted to since laying eyes on this new Doctor and began gently carding his fingers through the Doctor’s soft brown hair. The Doctor tensed slightly, startled at the new contact but began to relax almost immediately. Jack smiled and tilted his head to rest against the Doctor’s, determined to commit the moment to memory.

They sat like that for a long while, just enjoying the atmosphere of the park and the feel of each other pressed together on the bench. Eventually, the Doctor began to shift impatiently until he sat himself upright and turned to Jack. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but he snapped his mouth shut and smiled instead, before leaning in to kiss Jack softly.

Jack squeezed his arm around the Doctor’s waist to convey how pleased he was with this turn of events. He tilted his head slightly to press his mouth against the Doctor’s soft lips more deeply. Jack decided to take a gamble and see how far he could push the Time Lord, flicking his tongue out to sweep against the other man’s closed mouth. The Doctor inhaled sharply through his nose and his mouth fell open almost of its own accord.

Jack pushed his tongue into the Doctor’s mouth, brushing it gently over the Doctor’s before retreating again. The Doctor’s hand snaked up to grip the back of Jack’s neck as his tongue chased Jack’s back into the captain’s mouth. They continued with this push and pull of exploring each other’s mouths, their tongues learning each other and dancing together in an intimate rhythm. Jack was hardly surprised at the dexterity of the Doctor’s tongue but was selfishly thrilled by that clever mouth being focused entirely on him.

At length, the Doctor pulled away from Jack and smiled lazily, “Seems I’ve remembered a thing or two!”

Jack chuckled, revelling in the cheeky glint in the Doctor’s eyes, “I’ll say! Is there anything you’re not good at?”

The Doctor narrowed his eyes and thought seriously for a moment, “Juggling. I’m rubbish at juggling. I used to be able to play the spoons you know, but I don’t think I can anymore…”

Jack shook his head and grinned, “Well, I can’t wait to find out more of your hidden talents!”

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck as the tips of his ears turned pink, “Yes, well, ahem… right! Come along then! There’s more to show you before the sun sets!”

The Doctor jumped to his feet and held out his hand. Jack took the offered hand with a smug smile; he could definitely get used to a blushing Doctor. The two men continued through the rooftop garden until they came to a glittering silver colonnaded building perched right on the edge of the spire and cantilevering out into the open air. In the distance behind the shining building, a range of dazzling reflective mountains lay shimmering in the afternoon light.

“Aha!” the Doctor exclaimed, gesturing at the building. “The Delarius Prime Rooftop Restaurant! One of the most exclusive dining experiences on the planet, boasting fine food and a spectacular view of the mirrored mountains of Glasmir! And guess who has reservations?”

Jack snorted derisively, but before he could tease the Doctor about his ability to plan ahead, the Doctor fished his psychic paper out of his coat and waved it around, waggling his eyebrows with glee. With a manic grin and an air of complete confidence, the Doctor dragged Jack towards the posh looking maître d’ and promptly got them whisked into the prestigious restaurant as a governor and a duke of Shallanna.

Jack had always prided himself on his confidence and charm but he felt as though his talents paled in comparison to the Doctor’s ability to walk into a place as though he owned it, all the while speaking with such authority and charisma that people would bend over backwards to do what he said. Not that Jack blamed them in the slightest; more often than not he would do the same.

Before Jack knew it, they were settled at a table on the cantilevered balcony hovering high above the planet surface and were ordering an impressive array of delicacies. Jack let the Doctor order for him, as he seemed to know a lot more about the best things to eat than Jack ever could. As their food came out and they began to eat, they talked about everything and nothing; the food and where it came from, how the spires were built, how the Doctor had met Donna, a handful of Jack’s more tame Time Agent stories and even the Doctor’s favourite place to buy his ties.

Jack soaked up every bit of information the Doctor offered, no matter how mundane or boring it seemed. He soaked up every tiny scrap of personal information and was determined to commit them to memory. Somehow, knowing that the Doctor preferred to source his ties from a late 20th century Earth tailor in Saville Row, and that no one else was aware of that fact, made Jack feel quite privileged. Sometimes Jack would catch glimpses of the shadows behind the Doctor’s eyes when he spoke of places he’d been or particular events. Jack wouldn’t pry, but he thought that the gesture of giving out mundane information about himself held a glimmer of promise that maybe the Doctor would open up to him soon.

In addition to being caught up in the conversation, Jack was mesmerised by watching the Doctor eat his meal. The way his tongue flicked to the corners of his mouth to lap up stray sauce, or when he hummed in pleasure at the food made Jack’s pulse speed up. When their meals were finished, the Doctor even licked his fingers in a way that made Jack shift uncomfortably in his seat and he was forced to take a few calming breaths. Of course, the Doctor didn’t even seem to realise what he was doing and thankfully he didn’t register Jack’s reactions, or if he did the Time Lord hid it well.

When their plates had been cleared away and both men were pleasantly full, Jack glanced up to notice that the light outside was fading.

The Doctor’s eyes lit up, “Oh here we go! Sunset! You’ll love this.”

Jack looked out over the balcony to watch as the sun began to set over the mirrored mountains. The Doctor leapt from the table and trotted over to the balcony balustrade, resting his hands on it to lean over the edge eagerly. It was a stunning sight; the reflective mountains began to glow with pink and purple light as the rays of the setting suns bounced off the fractals of the cliff sides. And the Doctor, standing in the bright glow of the mountains like some kind of god, shining and beautiful in his joy at the sight before him.

Jack was content to soak up this wonderous sight for a few moments, until the desire to join the Doctor prompted Jack to get to his feet. He moved over towards the Doctor, who turned to glance at him with a childlike grin. Jack smiled softly back at him, standing behind the Time Lord and wrapping his arms around the Doctor’s waist. The Doctor’s manic grin faded to something sweeter as he gazed at Jack over his shoulder. The Doctor’s hands moved from the balustrade to squeeze Jack’s where they rested around his waist. Jack pressed a kiss to the Doctor’s forehead and hooked his chin over the alien’s shoulder to look out at the mountains.

“It’s beautiful, Doc,” Jack said quietly, referring not just to the mountains but also to this moment with the man he loved in his arms.

The Doctor returned his gaze back to the view and tilted his head to lean against Jack, “Isn’t it just?”

He said this in the same hushed, reverent tone that Jack had used. It made him think that perhaps the Doctor had understood the deeper meaning to Jack’s words and was agreeing with him. That thought alone took Jack’s breath away as they stood there, pressed against one another in the rosy glow of the mirrored mountains. As the sky grew darker, stars could be seen up above and the twinkling lights of the neighbouring spires made the planet begin to shine.

Jack squeezed the Doctor slightly and said, “You know, it may have been a while for you, Doc, but this has been a pretty amazing first date. You sure know how to seduce a guy with good food and a spectacular planet.”

The Doctor turned in Jack’s arms and hooked his own over Jack’s shoulders with a cheeky smile, “Well, being able to impress Jack Harkness is high praise indeed! I think all of this romance stuff is starting to come back to me now…”

He leaned forwards and pressed a confidant kiss to Jack’s lips. Jack hummed in approval and deepened the kiss, pulling the Doctor close. They were lost in each other for a few moments, until someone cleared their throat nearby. The Doctor pulled away, startled by the interruption of their waitress, who was standing by their table with an indulgent smile on her blue face.

“Would you like any dessert? Or shall I bring you the payment chit?” she asked innocently.

Jack cleared his throat and smiled dazzlingly at her, “No thanks, darling, I think we’re okay on dessert. The payment will be fine.”

She nodded knowingly at them and placed the chit scanner on the table, before turning away with a slight giggle.

Without needing to be asked, Jack moved to stand in front of the chit scanner and block wandering eyes as the Doctor surreptitiously pulled out his sonic screwdriver to buzz it at the machine. As they were donning their coats in preparation to leave, the waiter came back and retrieved the chit scanner.

“Have a lovely evening!” she said with a not-so-subtle wink.

“I always do,” Jack replied cheekily with a returning wink, making her blush a deep shade of cerulean.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack noticed the Doctor’s shoulders tense up slightly at his words, but before he could say anything about it, the Doctor was striding towards the door of the restaurant. Jack’s brow furrowed in confusion. He thought the Doctor understood the depth of Jack’s feeling for him, even though Jack liked a good flirt. He caught up to the Doctor outside in the cool evening air.

“Hey,” Jack said, getting the Doctor’s attention as he walked in a slow meander back through the garden. “What’s wrong? If it’s about that waitress… I thought you knew by now that flirting is practically how I communicate. It doesn’t mean anything…”

“No, I know,” the Doctor interrupted, stopping by a flowering bush, and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “It’s not that… I’m fine, really. Don’t worry about it…”

“Doctor,” Jack said gently, “You know that won’t work with me, right? What’s going on? Is it something I said? Because I want this to work, so badly, but we need to be as honest as we can with each other. Which is a tall ask for both of us, I know! But I won’t judge you, and I won’t laugh, no matter what it is. You can tell me anything. After all, I’m the only other being in the universe who might have some shared experience!”

“Well, it’s just,” the Doctor hesitated, uncertain, before taking a breath and babbling out in a swift rush of words, “What you insinuated to that waitress… I just wasn’t sure whether you were serious about that. You know, I guess I didn’t expect that you’d… but of course you do! You’re you, after all. But, you know, it’s all just a bit fast and I know you said you don’t expect anything from me. I believe you, of course I believe you, but I suppose I know how you are, and I want to be able to give that to you but…”

“Hey, okay slow down!” Jack interrupted, clapping a hand onto the Doctor’s shoulder forcefully to jolt him out of his flustered babbling. “I understand, alright? And hey, I would like to do that with you, sure… but only when we’re ready. If I’m honest, I’m not sure I’m ready yet either.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened comically in shock, before they narrowed again in suspicion and his left eyebrow shot up in accusation, “Really. Somehow I find that hard to believe Captain.”

Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. He felt slightly vulnerable admitting this, but the Doctor clearly needed more reassurance than he had initially thought, “It’s true. I’ve wanted you for so long, Doc, but now that we’re here… I just want it to be right. We’ve been through so much, and I think there’s still a lot of things that both of us need to come to terms with. I don’t want to rush anything before we’ve had a bit of time to figure out who we are now, after everything…” Jack hung his head in exasperation, “I’m not sure I’m making any sense..”

“You are,” the Doctor replied. He also pushed his hands deep into his trouser pockets and began to amble down the path again, Jack at his side. “You’re right, Jack. So much has happened… and we’ve both changed since we last spent any real time together…”

Jack waited for the Doctor to say more, but his eyes had grown distant again and they continued to walk slowly in silence. Jack wondered what the Doctor was thinking about, was it Rose? The Master?

It was true, the Doctor had changed not just in body, but also in personality. And after a hundred years, many of which had been spent blaming the Doctor for abandoning him, Jack had also changed. Especially after hearing the Doctor tell him so bluntly that he had deliberately left Jack behind on Satellite 5. Although Jack and the Doctor had spent those few days together at the end of the universe and on the run from the Master, they had hardly had time to get to know each other again. And the time spent on the Valiant, well, the only times Jack was in the Doctor’s presence was when he was being tortured and killed by the Master to torment the Doctor.

And after the paradox had been undone and the Master was dead, there was little time for deep conversation. Jack had taken command of the ship and given orders to the soldiers aboard to detain Lucy Saxon. No one had approached the Doctor as he sat sobbing over the body of the man who had tormented them for a whole year. Most had been too shocked to move. As the head of Torchwood Three, Jack had attempted to smooth things over with the various world leaders and UNIT regarding the dead American president and the murder of Harold Saxon by his own wife. By the time he had given out all the orders to begin the clean-up, the Doctor had moved the Master’s body to the side of the room and was wiping his face clean of tears and grime.

Jack had approached him only to find that the Doctor’s eyes were dull and closed off. He had wanted to offer some words of comfort to the Doctor, but Jack had been so tired that he hadn’t been able to think of anything better than “I’m sorry”. The Doctor had only nodded, before they moved the Master’s body to the TARDIS together. Silently, they had started dismantling the Paradox Machine inside the Doctor’s precious ship.

They worked for hours, but not a word had been spoken. Martha had come to check on them both, to make sure they were physically alright, but when she could hardly get two words out of the Doctor, she had left them alone with a sigh. When the Paradox Machine had been dismantled, the Doctor had taken off from the Valiant and landed the TARDIS down on a beach, Jack still wasn’t sure exactly where. As the last Time Lord had begun to carefully wrap the Master’s body in cloth, Jack had understood why they were there and started to gather wood to build the funeral pyre.

The hours of labour it took to create the pyre had been a way for Jack to put his body to use after so much time captive. It was also a way to keep his mind occupied with a menial task, rather than focusing on who he was building the pyre for and everything that had been done to him and the Doctor, not to mention the world, at the Master’s hand. Jack had returned to the TARDIS to give the Doctor some privacy to say goodbye to the only other Time Lord in the universe, attempting to reach out psychically to the ship to comfort her after being violated by the Paradox Machine.

The Doctor had spent nearly an hour beside the pyre and by the time he had dragged himself back through the doors of the TARDIS, Jack had begun nodding off on the jump seat. At the sight of the Doctor, who looked just as exhausted as Jack felt, he had walked the Doctor straight to the door of his room to get some rest. Jack had expected some amount of resistance from the Doctor, but he had allowed Jack to escort him to his room with little more than a weary nod and barely a second glance at the immortal. Too tired to go hunting for his room, Jack had made his way to one of the many living areas in the ship and had crashed onto the first couch he had come across.

Jack had woken from his exhausted dreamless sleep to find a new shirt carefully laid out over the arm of the couch to replace his tattered one. After cleaning himself up, he had found the Doctor in the console room, also cleaned up and dressed in a fresh and unrumpled suit. Nearly 24 hours had passed since they had departed from the Valiant, but the Doctor returned to the carrier ship only moments after the TARDIS had taken off.

By the time they had retrieved Martha and her family, the Doctor’s cheerful façade had been firmly in place once more. Before he knew it, Jack had been dropped back at Torchwood with nothing more than some light banter and cheeky salute. Jack hoped that this time, travelling with the Doctor as his lover rather than simply a friend, perhaps things would be different. Maybe the Doctor would become more open and trusting… Jack certainly hoped that would be the case.

Jack was so lost in thought that he was startled when he saw the TARDIS not far away, tucked back in an inconspicuous corner of the garden. They had walked the length of the garden in silence, both lost in their memories and musings. The silence was now so thick between them that Jack was unsure how to break it, not wanting to say the wrong thing.

When they arrived at the TARDIS doors, the Doctor pulled out his key but hesitated before turning the lock. He glanced at Jack out of the corner of his eye, before straightening slightly and pushing the door open forcefully. The Doctor entered the TARDIS and moved directly towards the corridor that led to the rest of the ship, throwing his coat over a coral strut as he went. Jack was unsure whether the Doctor wanted company or whether he was trying to make a quick escape into the bowels of the ship, so he hovered awkwardly in the console room.

The Doctor turned to Jack and said gravely, “Come with me.”

Of course, when the Doctor issued a command like that Jack was helpless to do anything but obey. He followed the Doctor further into the TARDIS corridors, feeling a sense of trepidation growing in his gut. Was the Doctor taking him somewhere for an intervention? Had he realised that he didn’t want to be with Jack after all?

As Jack’s imagination was spinning out of control, all he could do was follow the Doctor, just like he always would. Despite the sinking feeling in Jack's chest, he was comforted somewhat by the fact that at least he'd had one glorious afternoon. Even if the Doctor was about to break his heart, he would cherish this date forever...


	3. Chapter 3

Jack was abruptly jolted from his anxious thoughts as the Doctor turned into a room at the end of one of the TARDIS’s long winding corridors. Jack followed the Doctor inside and discovered that they were in the library, one of the cosiest rooms on the ship, consisting of a round chamber multiple stories high with massive bookshelves towering up to the distant ceiling. Wrought iron spiral staircases and platforms criss-crossed the soaring canopy, while the ground floor was covered with plush Turkish rugs and featured a large stone fireplace where a log fire was already burning.

Jack had been to this room before, with its plush armchairs, sofa and reading tables, but its location within the TARDIS had moved which was why Jack hadn’t realised where they were going. The Doctor crossed to the fireplace and rested a hand on the mantle, exhaling a heavy sigh. Suddenly, he turned to Jack and gestured towards one of the side tables where a tumbler of amber liquid was waiting.

“Drink?” he asked, though the Doctor clearly had no intention of pouring any himself.

Jack was starting to feel even more uneasy, was the Doctor trying to ply him with alcohol now? He moved to the centre of the ring of chairs in front of the fire and planted his feet firmly, ready for a fight if that’s what was coming.

He crossed his arms over his chest and said, “Actually, I think I’d like to know what’s got into you. What’s going on?”

“Fair enough,” the Doctor said with a sigh, before turning to face Jack fully and making deliberate, intense eye contact, “I want to apologise. After everything that’s happened, I realise I never said it when we were at the end of the universe. Right after I had tried to deliberately leave you behind all over again… And the things I said, well, the way I said them…”

“That’s what this is about?” Jack interrupted quietly, struck by the Doctor’s sincerity. But why was he so solemn? Did the Doctor think that Jack wouldn’t forgive him, as if he hadn’t already? Jack unfolded his arms to run a hand through his hair, “Doctor you don’t have to…”

“Yes, I do,” the Doctor cut in firmly, resolve and guilt warring in his brown eyes. “I’m sorry, Jack, I truly am. I’m so sorry for abandoning you at the Game Station and running away from you again in Cardiff. I should’ve been there for you when you became immortal, I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like all by yourself… I could have moved past my ridiculous Time Lord prejudices to be there to support you, just like you’ve been here for me all this time.”

The Doctor paused for a moment, and Jack rushed to reassure him of his position.

“I forgive you.”

“I know,” the Doctor replied sadly, as though he didn’t understand why Jack forgave him, but knew with certainty that he would. “All the same, I apologise. Not just for that, but for all the things I said at the end of the universe, about you being wrong and hard to look at. That was poorly phrased on my part. You’re not ‘wrong’ Jack, you’re… an anomaly. It’s like, I always feel the whole universe constantly spinning, constantly in flux with possibilities… but you stay interminable and unending amongst the churning beautiful chaos of time, like a rock unmoved by a river, and I can see it. I can feel it in my bones… And all that time on the Valiant, every time you died, I could feel it.”

The Doctor looked down at his trainers, but he continued, “Honestly, at first it made my stomach turn because I could feel how unnatural it was. But after a while, my stomach began to turn not because you’re a fixed point, but because I knew you were in pain… and the thought that you were suffering because of me…”

The Doctor trailed off and swallowed hard, his voice thick with emotion. Jack was shaken by the Doctor’s raw beautiful words. He hadn’t realised how desperately he had wanted to hear them. An apology like this one was a rare thing from the Doctor, but Jack was so grateful for it that he practically felt a weight lift from his soul. He hadn’t even realised he’d been carrying such a burden until the pressure on his heart eased just slightly. The idea of the Doctor being repulsed by his existence, or even being caused pain because of him, hurt Jack more than he would ever admit. He had thought he might be angry with the Doctor if he ever had the nerve to apologise for abandoning him, just like he had when the Doctor had spoken to him through the door of a deadly irradiated room at the end of the universe.

The flippant way the Doctor had spoken to Jack about his decision to leave him behind had made him so angry, but he had repressed the urge to punch him in the face until after they had saved the people searching for Utopia. But the situation had escalated, as it always does when the Doctor is involved, and over the course of his year in captivity, Jack had transferred his anger to the Master instead.

After everything they’d been through, Jack now looked at the Time Lord and felt the need to comfort him in his guilt.

Jack moved over to the Doctor and rubbed a hand up and down his arm, “Hey, it’s over now. I’m alright. It’s okay…”

The Doctor looked back up into Jack’s eyes, face creased by sorrow and guilt, “Is it? How can it ever… Well… anyway, I apologise. You’re not ‘wrong’ Jack, you’re unique… special, even. Perhaps Rose gave me a gift when she brought you back to life and I just couldn’t see it…”

Jack swallowed around the lump in his throat and said thickly, “Thank you, Doctor. Apology accepted…”

The Doctor smiled in relief, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He slumped back onto the sofa with a sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. Jack moved to the alcohol on the side table and poured himself a glass, before joining the Doctor on the sofa. He left about a foot of room between them, not sure if the Doctor would welcome closeness after his confession.

Jack sipped at his drink and they sat quietly for a minute or so, much of the tenseness from the walk back to the TARDIS having dissipated. But Jack felt there was still more to talk about. He didn’t know whether this was the right time to bring it up, but if he didn’t now, Jack wasn’t sure he’d ever have the opportunity again.

He took a fortifying sip of the scotch in his glass and cleared his throat, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” the Doctor replied, leaning back into the sofa cushions to look at Jack.

“You’re not gonna like it,” Jack warned, feeling the need to make the Doctor aware of the kind of question he wanted to ask.

“Probably not,” the Doctor said without hesitation, “But I think I owe you some honesty after… well, everything. I’ll answer as best as I can.”

Jack assessed the Doctor for a moment; he seemed honest about answering his question, but the grim twist of his mouth suggested that he already had an inkling about what Jack was going to ask.

“Can I ask you… about the Master?”

The Doctor’s shoulders tensed slightly and his eyes dropped to the complex pattern on the plush rug beneath their feet, but he didn’t have that closed off expression that he usually got when someone asked about his past. Jack took this as a good sign and continued.

“I know we haven’t really talked about what happened on the Valiant, not even when you came to save me from the Master inside my head. But maybe we should before we go any further. Clear the air, you know? It’s just, the way you looked at him, spoke to him and talked about him… even the way you held him after… I guess I just want to know…”

“You want to know if we were more than friends?” the Doctor declared, more a statement than a question. He lifted his gaze back to Jack, but he didn’t appear angry. Just tired, and very old.

“Yeah,” Jack said quietly, not liking the worn expression on the Doctor’s face.

The Doctor looked back down at the rug, absently picking at the tassels on one of the sofa cushions as he spoke, “We were rebels, he and I, when we were growing up. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours about Time Lords; that they were aloof and purely cerebral beings. That was what society mandated on Gallifrey… and it was stifling. I was different than the other kids I met. I seemed to feel more deeply than the rest, until I met the Master.  
“He was so different, I thought he was like me. And he was, in a way. We became very close and spoke about all kinds of things that were considered taboo… we even talked about running away from Gallifrey together. So yes, in answer to your question. When we were young, we were in love, or at least I thought it was love. In reality, it was all about control for him… manipulating me and trying to change me. We were together for a time but eventually, I couldn’t do it anymore and I told him so.  
“We were still tentatively friends for a while, but it was never the same. Eventually, he got so out of control that… well, people got hurt. When I found out he was alive, it was less about love and more about nostalgia. I guess I was hoping that because it was just the two of us left, it might be like it was… But now I realise that he never really loved me, it was about power and control and desire, but not love.”

The Doctor sighed deeply and reached over to pluck Jack’s drink from his limp fingers, taking a small sip before handing it back. Their fingers brushed ever so slightly, and Jack felt as though a jolt of electricity had been sent through him at the contact, startling him out of his surprise at the Doctor’s confession. Truthfully, Jack had expected more vague statements like he and Martha had received when they were on the run.

The idea that even when they were young, the Master had been taking advantage of the Doctor and manipulating him made Jack’s blood boil… but the devastation on the Doctor’s face from thinking about that centuries old betrayal caused a deep sadness to overrule his anger. It seems the universe had started dealing the Doctor a bad hand right from when he was young, and it made Jack’s heart ache.

“I’m so sorry, Doctor,” Jack whispered over the crackling of the fire.

The Doctor looked up at Jack and smiled thinly, “Thank you… I know that after everything he did, you must hate him. And in some ways, I wish I could hate him too. But I can’t. I just wish that I could have gotten through to him somehow… even back when we were kids…”

“Hey,” Jack interrupted firmly, “It’s not your fault that he turned out the way he did. After the whole Untempered Schism thing, he probably needed more help than a kid could provide… even one as brilliant as you.”

The Doctor nodded and smiled again, but this time the warmth reached his eyes, “You don’t even know what I was like as a child.”

Jack chuckled at the teasing glint in the Doctor’s eyes, “I’ll bet you were much the same as you are now; a disruptive rule breaker who cares for everything and everyone around him. So much so that he seems to get himself into trouble!”

The Doctor tilted his head in concession, a lopsided grin on his face “Well, that sounds about right…”

There was another slight pause, but Jack found that now he had even more questions than he’d had at the start, “So, your people didn’t approve of you and him? Was it because you were both men or something else?”

The Doctor shuffled towards Jack and turned to face him fully, so that he was sitting sideways on the sofa. He began to gesticulate wildly as he spoke, “No, no nothing like that. A Time Lord can change everything from their gender to their skin colour from one body to the next during regeneration, so constructs like gender aren’t really relevant to us. It’s hard to explain, but I suppose societal expectations on Gallifrey about relationships was more… clinical. It was more about finding a compatible partner rather than indulging in romantic notions of love. We were taught that Time Lords only have a very small number of compatible mates in the universe, and when you find one you settle down and have a family to continue the lineage and legacy of the Time Lords.”

“Well, that certainly does sound stifling,” Jack said. He couldn’t imagine being restricted to a certain number of partners throughout one’s lifetime, especially a life as long as a Time Lord’s. “Was that just a societal thing or is it biological as well?”

The Doctor rubbed his chin and hummed, “I suppose a little of both. It’s certainly true that Time Lords only experience this ‘compatibility’ with a very small number of beings, but I think the limitations based on the idea of ‘mating for life’ or some such nonsense was entirely societal. That was one of the things the Master and I agreed on. We thought that limiting yourself with rules like that meant squashing an individual’s potential. Though of course it turns out we had very different ideas about the finer points… If I’m honest, it frightens me that the Master and I were such a good match…”

“You’re nothing like him, Doctor,” Jack replied forcefully, grasping the Doctor’s hand to get his attention. “Maybe in your more rebellious tendencies, yes, you were similar. But you want to explore the universe and revel in its beauty, not conquer it and recreate it in your own image like a dictator. You’re different where it counts, trust me.”

The Doctor smiled again and dropped his gaze down to stare at where he was rubbing his thumb over the back of Jack’s hand. Jack could see some of the pain from their previous topic beginning to creep back in, so Jack decided to distract the Doctor the only way he knew how.

"So…” Jack crooned, a flirtatious smile on his lips, “does that mean I’m one of the few people in the universe that you’re compatible to mate with?”

The Doctor snorted but his previously thin smile turned lopsided and cheeky, “Well, I guess we’ll have to see, won’t we! But I think it’s going rather well so far…”

The Doctor shifted forwards onto his knees and leaned over to Jack, fitting their lips together in a slow open-mouthed kiss. Jack sighed at the feel of the Doctor’s tongue caressing the inside of his mouth delicately. Even though the kiss was deep, it was so intimate and gentle that it almost felt chaste despite the entangling of their tongues. It was such an amazing contradiction, much like the Doctor himself. After a few long moments the Doctor pulled away, but only slightly as he kept his lips close to Jack’s. They sat there for a moment, just breathing each other’s air.

Jack brushed his nose affectionately over the Doctor’s and puffed out a breath over his lips, “God, you’re so good at that. Given how long you said it’s been for you, it’s completely unfair.”

The Doctor gave a singular high-pitched giggle, before moving back to sit on his heels. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a flashing mauve light going off in the corner of the library, closely followed by a piercing alarm echoing through the TARDIS.

“A mauve alert,” Jack stated, feeling the first rushes of adrenaline begin to cause through his body.

“It’s probably dangerous,” the Doctor said quietly with a serious expression. He could only keep a straight face for a few seconds before a manic expression of glee took over. He jumped of the couch with a cackle and held his hand out for Jack.

Jack’s face split into a wide grin as he took the Doctor’s hand and leapt to his feet. Before they left the library, however, Jack tugged gently on their joined hands to halt the Doctor’s mad dash to the console room. The Doctor regarded him with a confused expression but stopped in his tracks.

“Hey… Thank you for trusting me with all that,” Jack said frankly, “I know that you don’t usually tell people any of that stuff, and I just want you to know how much I appreciate it.”

The Doctor smiled enigmatically at him, “And that’s exactly why you deserve to know. I trust you, Jack.”

Jack felt a shiver run down his spine at the weight of those words. He would treat the Doctor’s trust in him as something precious to be nurtured, and hopefully not screw everything up. He grinned and squeezed the Doctor’s hand.

“Well then, let’s get outta here!”

The Doctor grinned again before tugging Jack towards the console room, “Allons-y!”


	4. Chapter 4

The next three weeks passed in a flurry of adrenaline, running and saving people. Jack had missed the moments of terror and joy and wonder that travelling with the Doctor entailed, but he also discovered that the quiet moments that Jack had shared with the previous incarnation of the Doctor had started to become more frequent. The whole first week had been one adrenaline rush after another, as is typical for life with the Doctor. The second week, however, saw a few more moments of down time in between adventures, where the two men would work together quietly on the TARDIS, share their morning cup of tea with some cheeky flirting or even spend their evenings quietly reading and winding down in the library in comfortable silence after their latest escapade.

By the third week, Jack was frankly surprised by the change in their relationship. After their first date, they had been swept up in a series of distress calls and outings which had begun tamely enough but ended up with them running from explosions and saving people. One such instance had even landed Jack in jail, which led to the Doctor breaking him out and then proceeding to run for their lives across a glacier to escape the local tentacled authorities.

In the quieter moments of the second week, the Doctor settled into their relationship a bit more and began to bestow little moments of easy affection upon Jack. A cheeky wink here, a flirtatious comment there, culminating in kisses goodnight before they retired to their respective rooms to get some shut eye. For Jack, the more the Doctor relaxed, the more his chest felt it was about to burst with joy. However, the more frequent these comfortable exchanges of affection became, the more time Jack found he needed to spend in his room relieving the sexual tension that was coursing through his 51st century veins.

They would come back to the TARDIS after saving some planet or other, and the residual adrenaline Jack felt would quickly turn into sexual desire. The Doctor would run his hands through his hair when he was thinking or touch his tongue to the roof of his open mouth and drive Jack mad with desire. By the time Jack would chastely kiss the Doctor goodnight, and probably get playfully scolded for trying to cop a feel, he would be bursting with unresolved sexual energy.

He would go straight to his bed or his shower and take himself in hand, trying to sate the desire he was feeling for the Doctor. Jack had promised that he would be patient, but being able to touch and taste the Doctor whenever he felt like it, without the release of sex, was slowly driving him mad. Despite this, Jack was determined keep his promise, even if it meant pleasuring himself solo until his hand cramped.

By the time their third week together rolled around, the Doctor began shooting Jack looks that were a mixture of guilt, concern and anxiety. Clearly, he was aware of the effect he was having on Jack. It seemed that not even the Doctor was blind enough to miss Jack’s pent up desire.

One evening, they were winding down in the library after having saved the inhabitants of Ovoock from a nasty infestation of huge praying mantis creatures who were trying to forcibly impregnate the entire planet. As they sat, with the Doctor pretending to read and Jack finishing off his evening scotch, he had caught the Doctor sneaking him half a dozen of these conflicted glances in as many minutes. 

Fed up with the Doctor’s ridiculous need to feel guilty for every single thing, Jack went over to the sofa and dumped his legs into the Doctor’s lap, “You know, you don’t have to keep looking at me like that.”

The Doctor shifted awkwardly, putting his book away and looked pointedly down at where his hands were absently resting on Jack’s legs, “Like what?”

“Like you know you’re unintentionally driving me crazy and feel guilty cause you’re not ready to do anything about it,” Jack said plainly with the hint of a grin on his face. He wasn’t going to let the Doctor weasel out of the conversation that easily, but he tried to soften the confrontation with a little bit of teasing.

The Doctor sighed in defeat, “I can smell your increase in pheromones when… well. They don’t affect me like they do humans or most other species, but I can tell when you’re… ahem…”

“It’s okay, Doc,” Jack interrupted, sparing the Doctor from his increasing embarrassment. “You don’t have to feel bad. Honestly, you had this effect on me even when you had a different body, and I was trying to keep things PG for Rose’s sake.”

“Really?” the Doctor asked, surprise written all over his features.

“Absolutely. You just didn’t notice anything else when she was around! So don’t worry, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of it myself. In many different ways I might add! Take all the time you need.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes at Jack’s comment but smiled gratefully. Jack then swung his legs out of the Doctor’s lap and pressed up close against him to croon in his ear, “Besides, I know it’ll be worth the wait.”

Jack noticed the hitch in the Doctor’s breath and pressed a firm kiss to the Doctor’s lips, before getting to his feet and saying goodnight over his shoulder. Even though he respected the Doctor’s boundaries, he couldn’t help teasing him in the hope that his small seductions would encourage the Time Lord to decide that he was ready for what Jack craved.

So for the next week, Jack began a pattern of surprising the Doctor with his not-so-subtle seductions as they travelled. He would pin the Doctor against the console for a kiss that was just this side of filthy and move away before he could protest. Or Jack would brush up against him and murmur innuendos in his ear, enjoying the way the Doctor would blush and splutter for a response until he recovered himself enough to scold Jack.

However, despite Jack’s teasing the Doctor never displayed any intentions to move further than kissing and chaste caresses. It got to the point where Jack felt like he was just torturing himself rather than convincing the Doctor to take him to bed.

One morning, after Jack had woken up hard and had taken care of himself in the shower, he meandered down the TARDIS corridors from his room to the kitchen. He found a fresh pot of coffee on the counter and all the condiments laid out for his morning toast. It wasn’t unusual if the Doctor was nowhere to be found in the mornings, but it certainly wasn’t like him to practically prepare breakfast for Jack. After drinking his coffee and eating his toast, Jack headed to the console room in search of the Doctor.

When he arrived, Jack found the Doctor crouched under the console with his sonic in one hand and a mallet in the other. He was growling at the underside of the console but when he looked up and saw Jack, the scowl on the Doctor’s face melted into a smile.

“Morning Jack!”

“Good morning, sunshine,” Jack replied, crossing to perch on the edge of the jump seat. As the Doctor extricated himself from under the console, Jack crossed his arms and asked as casually as possible, “So, I saw you made coffee for me this morning. And left out all the spreads for the toast. Can I expect breakfast in bed next?”

The Doctor whacked something back into place with the mallet, before turning to hang it up on its hook, “Well, I was walking past your room this morning and I heard you… um, well, I noticed that you were awake so I thought I’d just, start your coffee brewing so it would be ready once you were done. I mean, when you were done with your shower… erm, you know, when you were… finished… with that.”

Jack felt a lopsided grin spread over his face at the Doctor’s awkwardness and the slight pink tinge to the tips of his ears when he turned back to Jack. He must have been louder than he thought if the Doctor had been able to hear his gasps and moans of pleasure all the way out in the corridor. Was the Doctor trying to make up for causing Jack so much sexual frustration?

“You didn’t have to do that, you know,” Jack said, his salacious grin having softened to something sweeter without even realising.

“I know,” the Doctor said, pocketing his screwdriver and rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. “But I wanted to do something for you. Just so you know that I think about you too…”

It was so unlike the Doctor to make such a small, thoughtful gesture simply to reassure Jack of his affection that Jack felt himself once again hit with a wave of awe. While Jack may often think about the Doctor in a carnal way, clearly the Time Lord was thinking about him too, albeit in a slightly more family friendly manner. Four weeks later and the Doctor’s little acts of romance were still surprising him. Perhaps they always would. Jack certainly didn’t want to ever take the Doctor’s affections for granted.

“Well, it was very nice of you, and I appreciate it. But don’t think I’m going to let that idea of breakfast in bed go so easily!” Jack teased, moving to stand next to the console.

The Doctor chuckled and began flicking switches, dancing around the ship in a flurry of activity.

“So, where are we going today?” Jack asked, watching appreciatively as the Doctor leaned over the console to pull some levers. Thank God for those trousers…

“Well!” the Doctor cried, completely oblivious to Jack’s wandering eyes as he adjusted some settings on the keypad. “I was thinking I would just set her to random and see where we end up! What do you say?”

“Sounds perfect,” Jack agreed, holding onto the TARDIS to brace himself against the impending flight.

The Doctor stopped by the flight lever and paused to wag his eyebrows as Jack with excitement, before pulling the lever with a flourish. The TARDIS gave a mighty lurch as the central rotor bobbed up and down. The wheezing sound of the ship filled the room until they came to a halt at the destination the TARDIS had chosen.

The Doctor barked a slightly manic laugh as he bounced around, going through the landing sequence. Both men turned to grab their coats with matching grins and headed out into the unknown.


	5. Chapter 5

When they stepped out of the TARDIS, Jack and the Doctor were greeted with pitchforks shoved in their faces and the cocking of blasters. About a dozen dirty, skinny looking humanoids were pointing a variety of weapons at them. They were dressed in similar dirty, torn brown rags and their skin was pale grey. They had slightly scaly complexions with prominent cheekbone ridges and deep set, almost sunken black eyes. Some even had small horns protruding from under their scraggly hair and the expressions on their faces ranged from angry to terrified. The Doctor and Jack raised their hands slowly above their heads.

“I hate it when this happens,” the Doctor mumbled, his lips twisting in distaste at the sight of the blasters.

“I know, it’s not very polite,” Jack murmured back. He plastered the friendliest smile he could muster on his face and nodded at the people surrounding them, “Hello!”

The humanoids shifted anxiously, but one of the creatures holding a blaster moved forwards with confidence, determination on her fine features. She said with clipped tones,  
“How did you appear here? What do you want with us?”

“Oh no, we don’t want anything,” the Doctor rushed to reassure them. “We’re just travelers passing through in my ship. That’s this big box here, it sort of disappears from one place and reappears somewhere else. Well, it’s a little more complicated than that but…”

Jack elbowed the Doctor’s upraised arm to prevent him from an extremely inappropriately timed lecture about the spatial and temporal capabilities of his, admittedly fantastic, ship.

The Doctor cleared his throat, “Right, of course you’re not interested in that… I’m the Doctor and this is Captain Jack.”

“A doctor you say?” the confident one said, eyeing her companions. “And you, are you a captain of war?”

“I can be, if it’s required,” Jack said carefully. These people were clearly prepared for danger, perhaps he could earn their trust with his soldiering capabilities. The Doctor wouldn’t approve, of course, but if it meant they would avoid getting shot or impaled by farming equipment Jack would take his chances.

There was a tense pause, but eventually their leader gestured for the rag-tag bunch to lower their weapons. Jack and the Doctor slowly lowered their hands.

“Lovely, thanks for not shooting us,” the Doctor said cheerfully, shoving his hands deep in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. “Sorry, could you tell us where we are exactly?”

The leader raised a brow ridge with incredulity, “You do not know where you are?”

“Well, it’s more fun to travel if you don’t know where you’ll end up,” the Doctor replied with a friendly grin.

“Then perhaps you had better take your vessel elsewhere, as fun is not something you will find here,” she replied brusquely. “This world is A’Zoni, and you are standing in Quadrant 6, outside the gates of the great city of Kafa. I am M'Banthi and you two will come with me.”

M’Banthi turned and began to stride towards what looked like a shanty town of tents and rickety buildings. The villagers waved their weapons at the two men to shepherd them towards the settlement.

As they walked, the Doctor leaned close to Jack and whispered, “No wonder I didn’t recognise where we are, the A’Zoni I’m familiar with are a flourishing society. Of course, they had primitive beginnings like all species, but they developed into a wonderful race of scholars and philosophers and theologians. We must be very early on in their development…”

“Please stop talking,” M’Banthi commanded, sparing them a narrow-eyed glare over her shoulder.

The Doctor made a face at Jack and shrugged. Jack felt his customary grin slide into place, “Hey, I like a woman that knows what she wants…”

This quiet comment earned him a half-hearted glare from the Doctor. As they entered the shanty town, Jack took in their surroundings a little more. The town, if you could even call it that, was practically falling apart with makeshift tents dotted around a central open fire pit. It seemed to Jack that the few wooden buildings still standing were being held together with little more than mud and a prayer. There were two pens with various species of livestock in odd shapes and sizes, though not nearly enough to support the amount of people that were peering out from their dwellings to stare at them with frightened eyes.

No wonder the people looked so thin, Jack thought. This place was barely keeping things together. The surrounding landscape was dotted with sickly looking yellow grass, with low orange bushes and a few brown trees. The majority of the ground was dark black mud, but in the distance was a towering wall made from large slabs of dark blue stone.

As they approached the fire pit, an elderly man wrapped in rags rose unsteadily to his feet, “Are these the false gods who think they can appear in the land of the God King? Your powers of manifestation are little compared to the awful might of He who controls this land.”

“Ooh, a god eh? Is he the one responsible for the…” the Doctor paused and looked around pointedly, one judgemental eyebrow raised critically, “…uh, prosperity of your land?”

The old man pointed at the Doctor and scowled, “The false god mocks us! Why have they not been executed in the name of the...”

“Hush T'Mani,” M’Banthi said forcibly, yet not unkindly. “Where is Isaat?”

The old man named T’Mani crumpled back down onto his crude wooden stool, grumbling under his breath. The group on the opposite side of the fire pit began to part and an elderly woman shuffled towards them. M’Banthi gestured to one villager to bring another stool over to them for the woman to perch on. She did not appear as old and gnarled as T’Mani but she was obviously well respected in the village, as people nodded their heads to her in deference. She had an air of wisdom about her, and she shuffled forwards with her shoulders pulled back confidently. Jack thought that she must be older than she looked.

The woman, Isaat, stopped in front of Jack and the Doctor and regarded them with wizened black eyes, “Now then, granddaughter, why have you brought these strangers into our village? We heard your arrival echo across the plains and saw you appear as though out of nothingness. What strange beings you are…”

“Well, thank you very much!” the Doctor said jovially, seeming genuinely pleased. “I’m an expert at being strange. Nothing better to be, I say.”

M’Banthi nodded to Isaat and explained, “They say they seek nothing from us.”

At this, the group that had gathered around the fire pit began to murmur in disbelief, but M’Banthi continued, “This one says he is a doctor, and the other a captain of war. Perhaps they have been sent to aid us, grandmother.”

There was more murmuring, and the Doctor let his cheerfulness fade to be replaced by honest concern, “M’Banthi speaks truly. But there’s no need to keep your weapons on us. If there’s anything we can do to help, we’d be happy to try. I’m the Doctor and this is Jack, and you lot look like you could use a few extra pairs of hands around here.”

Suddenly, T’Mani spoke up again, glaring at the Doctor, “See! He mocks us with his false hope! He looks down upon us…”

“Thank you, T’Mani,” Isaat interrupted gently. She turned and seated herself on her stool and shooed away the crowd. “Sit with me, Doctor and Jack, perhaps you can help us.”

As the crowd began to reluctantly disperse, T’Mani piped up again, “Do not trust them, Isaat! I am certain that all they speak is false prophesy. We would be better served to trust in the God King…”

“Yes, because that has served us so well until now,” M’Banthi scolded as she turned to drag a long rickety looking bench over to Isaat. She gestured for the Doctor and Jack to sit, before perching tensely on the end of the bench.

“I mean no offence,” Jack began carefully, “but this God King of yours doesn’t seem to be supporting his people very well.”

T’Mani muttered something under his breath about sacrilege but Isaat just smiled thinly, “Yes, times have been hard in recent years. I shall tell you of our troubles, and then perhaps you can tell me how your miraculous appearance may aid us.  
“Generations ago, a star appeared from the skies and fell to the land with such force that, supposedly, the echo was heard leagues away and the flames from the site could be seen across the plains. Our ancestors sent out their best armed hunters to investigate and found a lone figure emerge from the star.”

“I assume he became the God King,” the Doctor said, sending Jack a sideways glance. Jack nodded slightly to him, clearly some kind of spaceship crashed onto this planet, but the locals weren’t advanced enough to recognise it for what it was.

Isaat nodded sagely, “Quite so. He spoke in such strange tongues that our ancestors could only understand every other word, but they recognised that a being who could survive falling from the sky must be great indeed. As the years passed, the God King spoke to our people of tales from the heavens and it was discovered that he was nearly indestructible. He passed on wisdom, like new ways of building and hunting, then eventually farming as well. All these things convinced our ancestors that he was a divine, benevolent being. A shrine was constructed around the fallen star and we worshiped the God King. The shrine grew into the city of Kafa you see in the distance. In return for his wisdom and the advancements he gave to our people, we asked what we could give him in return. The God King asked for tribute and provided very specific lists of materials that he desired.”

“And we gave them gladly!” T’Mani interrupted, thumping his fist on his thigh.

Isaat nodded sadly, “Yes, we gave them gladly. For generations, our people would provide the God King with tribute and he would give us knowledge and wisdom to allow our people to grow. The God King never changes, they say he does not age at all, which further confirmed his status as a god…”

“He is a God!” T’Mani exclaimed with such vigour that he descended into a coughing fit. M’Banthi leaped to her feet and fetched him a grimy cup of liquid.

As she gave him the cup and he drank deeply, she asked quietly, “Would a god truly allow his people to suffer in this way?” She turned back to the Doctor and Jack, “He has abandoned us…”

Isaat nodded again and said gravely, “Many think this way now. Over time, the God King’s demands for tribute could not be met, as the resources of our world have been drained after so long. In recent years, the high priests have begun raiding settlements in search of the tribute that the God King still demands. But as you can see, we have little left to give…”

“Our people are sick,” M’Banthi said. “Those of us outside the walls are desperate while the priesthood accumulates wealth for the God King. We cannot go on like this…”

“No, you can’t,” the Doctor agreed, his mouth a thin line as he thought about the problem that faced them. “I promise, Jack and I will help you. We can…”

The rest of the Doctor’s words were cut off as people started yelling and a thundering noise could be heard approaching the village. Everyone got to their feet and M’Banthi began running towards commotion, with Jack and the Doctor hot on her heels.

Black cloaked figures were approaching at great speed. As the figures drew nearer, Jack saw that they were mounted on huge, bright orange, ostrich-like creatures. The villagers began yelling and running to their homes, or clinging to each other in desperation, while M’Banthi and Isaat called for calm.

“This can’t be good,” Jack said to the Doctor, taking in the fear that had gripped the village.

“The high priests I presume,” the Doctor replied grimly, nodding in agreement.

As the cloaked priests came to a halt just outside the settlement, Jack saw that their faces were covered with black cloth so that only their black eyes were visible. There were five in all, but one had a chunky gold threaded belt around his waist and carried a golden staff in his grey hand.

He urged his mount forwards and shouted forcefully, “We are come to collect tribute for our most glorious saviour, the God King. Present it at once or suffer the consequences.”

M’Banthi spoke up, rage and despair warring on her face, “We have no tribute left. The menfolk have not returned from the mines and our forges lay cold. We have no materials to make any…”

“If there is no tribute,” the golden belted priest interrupted, “then recompense shall be taken.”

The other four priests leapt from their ostrich mounts and began to stalk through the village. People started screaming and begging for the priests to leave them alone, but their protests fell on deaf ears. A moment later, the priests returned and were dragging two children behind them, both of whom were wailing pitifully. The desperate mothers were following the priests, sobbing and begging but to no avail.

“Hey!” Jack yelled, moving to stand in front of the priests, the Doctor at his side. “Let go of them!”

When the priests made no move to respond or do as he said, Jack reached for one of the children. The priests yanked the small boy out of his reach and one rumbled, “Stand aside.”

The Doctor turned furiously to the still mounted priest, “Does the God King really demand children as the price for his own people’s suffering?”

“The children will be returned as soon as the tribute can be paid,” the priest said unflinchingly.

“I won’t allow it,” the Doctor growled fiercely.

The mounted priest cocked his head to the side, “Then you shall perish in the name of the God King.”

As the priest pointed his golden staff at the Doctor, Jack saw what was going to happen and screamed, “Look out!”

Jack pushed the Doctor roughly out of the way as the high priest fired a beam of blue energy from his staff. Jack saw the flash of blue careening towards his head before everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

Jack gasped in a heaving breath as he was dragged back into life. As he tried to pull as much air back into his lungs as possible, he found that his right eye was practically sealed shut with sticky blood. He groaned at the pounding of his head when he felt a delicate hand sweep over his hair.

“Shhh, you’re alright now,” the Doctor crooned softly, his voice wavering slightly.

Jack’s brow furrowed at the Doctor’s shaky words and peeled his eyes open to find the Time Lord kneeling over him with an expression that Jack could only call distress.

“Hey,” Jack said. “How long was I out?”

“About fifteen minutes,” the Doctor replied tightly.

Jack wiped at the blood beginning to dry on his face, “Damn. Head wounds are a bitch…”

The Doctor gave him and tight-lipped smile and helped Jack sit up. It was then Jack noticed that practically the entire village were staring at him with awe. As he looked at them, some even fell to their knees and bowed low.

“Oh boy…” Jack mumbled. As he looked around again, he realised that the high priests were gone, and presumably the children with them. Jack turned back to the Doctor, “They took the kids?”

The Doctor nodded gravely. He was also taking in the hushed whispers of the assembled crowd and glanced around worriedly, “Come on, let’s get you up and out of view.”

As the Doctor helped Jack to his feet, he heard something clatter to the earth. When he turned around, Jack saw that M’Banthi’s gun lay abandoned in the dirt and her eyes were wide in disbelief.

“You truly are new gods, here to rid us of the tyranny of our ruler,” she gasped, before pressing a hand to her heart and bowing low to both men.

“Listen,” the Doctor said somewhat impatiently, “We’re not gods, we’re just… a bit unusual, that’s all. Look, we can debate theology later, is there somewhere Jack can get cleaned up?”

M’Banthi looked back at Jack and the Doctor with shining eyes, so awestruck that she was seemingly unable to speak. Isaat stepped forwards and placed a gentle hand on her granddaughter’s shoulder.

“Follow me,” Isaat said, “You can use my hut.”

This sent a fresh wave of astonished whispering through the assembled crowd. Clearly, being offered the use of the wise woman’s hut was a great honour indeed, Jack thought, as Isaat led them over to one of the sturdier looking structures in the village. As they moved through the onlookers, many bowed to them or averted their eyes as they passed. Some even fell to their knees and began mumbling supplications into the ground.

Isaat pushed open the rickety door and gestured for them to enter. Both men had to duck slightly to pass through the small doorway but emerged into the single cramped living space. Three beds were packed into the far end and the rest was sparsely furnished with a central table, a long bench along the back wall and some rickety looking chairs. 

Isaat moved towards one of the chairs and retrieved a relatively clean looking cloth hanging over the back. She handed it to Jack with a deferent nod, before gesturing to a basin resting on a bench in the corner of the room, “The water is fresh and clear from the well. Please make use of this dwelling for as long as you require, great ones.”

“No, no, we’re not…” the Doctor protested weakly, as Isaat left the hut with a hopeful smile. The Doctor sighed. “Well, I guess the locals think you’re some kind of god now.”

“It’s been said before,” Jack teased with a lopsided grin. The Doctor, however, levelled a glare at Jack that held more heat than he’d seen in a long time. The cheeky smile slid off Jack’s face as he watched the Doctor take the cloth from his hands with a huff and move to wet it in the basin.

“Okay, I’m sorry. That was a bad joke,” Jack said in an attempt to mollify the Doctor. If only he knew what he’d done wrong to upset the Time Lord so much.

The Doctor turned back with the dampened cloth and basin in his hands, gesturing for Jack to sit at the table. He took off his greatcoat, depositing it on the table haphazardly, and sat down silently. He watched with growing concern as the Doctor placed the basin on the table and gently started wiping the blood from Jack’s face, his expression clouded. The Doctor’s brow was furrowed, and his eyes held a deep sadness as he cupped Jack’s face and washed the blood off Jack’s skin.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked quietly.

The Doctor huffed incredulously, shaking his head grimly, “How can you even…”

He turned away from Jack and rinsed the cloth, making the clear water turn murky with blood. As the Doctor rinsed the cloth, his lips pulled into a thin angry line.

“If this is about me pushing you out of the way, you better get used to it. I won’t apologise for saving you. Better one of my lives than one of yours.”

The Doctor turned back to Jack, brown eyes blazing. Jack met his gaze evenly. He had thought this might be a stumbling block for both of them. He knew how much the Doctor hated it when people sacrificed themselves for him. Jack would sacrifice his immortal life a thousand times over if it meant protecting the Doctor.

The Doctor must have seen something of this in Jack’s expression as some of the fire left his eyes and he dropped his gaze to the soiled cloth in his hands. Jack noticed with concern that the Doctor’s hands were shaking slightly. Before Jack could comment on it, the Doctor started to work the wet cloth through Jack’s hair, some of which was matted together with drying blood.

“I suppose that you’ve died so many times by now that you don’t think of it as a big deal… But what I saw out there, Jack…” the Doctor heaved a shuddering breath, his eyes haunted. “The side of your face was completely singed… blackened and burned beyond recognition. And I know that you’ve come back from many different deaths but, just for a moment, when I saw you lying there like that… And then you took so long to wake up… I though for a moment that you might not come back.”

The Doctor cleared his throat and turned away to the basin, trying to hide his shaking hands in the water.

Stupid man, Jack thought to himself. How could he be so foolish to think that the Doctor would be completely fine with the sight of Jack’s lifeless body at his feet. He knew that if their roles were reversed, Jack would certainly be every bit as shaken as the Doctor seemed. Particularly if his death had been as gruesome as the Doctor described.

Jack reached out and gently took one of the Doctor’s damp hands and turned him around, “Some deaths take longer to come back from than others, particularly if there’s a lot of damage to repair…”

The Doctor nodded jerkily, almost in frustration with himself at his reaction, “I know. In my head, I know that. But now that we’re… closer… more than friends. I hadn’t thought about how watching you die might affect me.”

Jack placed a delicate kiss to the Doctor’s trembling hand, “I’m sorry that I scared you. I truly am. But I won’t stop dying to protect you. I’m not done with this version of you yet…”

The Doctor huffed an exasperated breath at Jack’s comment and smiled a small, fragile smile. He ran the cloth one more time over Jack’s face and hair, saying softly, “I know I can’t ask you to stop protecting me like that. You wouldn’t be you if you weren’t stupidly sacrificing yourself for one reason or another.”

Jack snorted softly, “Takes one to know one, Doc. I learned from the best!”

The Doctor chuckled slightly, dumping the cloth back in the basin. He ran a hand softly through Jack’s hair, holding the immortal’s gaze, “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to watching you die, but I’ll try to always be here when you wake up.”

Jack smiled and swallowed around the lump in his throat. The Doctor leaned down and kissed him gently. It was a delicate brush of lips, completely chaste but loaded with emotion and sentiments that neither one of them seemed able to express. Jack was so glad they had this new language to communicate in, and he felt certain that the Doctor could say more with a caress or a glance or a brush of lips than he could in a soliloquy. He hoped that the Doctor could feel the love and devotion that Jack felt for him through the slow dance of closed mouthed kisses that he pressed to the Doctor’s lips, and the way he rested his forehead against the Doctor’s to prevent him from moving too far away.

The Doctor sighed and Jack noticed that his shoulders relaxed considerably. He placed one more gentle kiss to the Doctor’s lips before pulling back slightly to wipe the residual dampness from his face with the back of his hand. It didn’t seem like there was any blood left on his face, but Jack’s shirt was definitely ruined. He looked over to his coat on the table and groaned at the sight of the dark stains around the collar.

“Does the TARDIS have a special way of getting blood out of clothes? Cause I feel like that might be useful whenever I’m travelling with you,” Jack teased. Although if that was a real feature of the ship, he would be very impressed…

The Doctor swatted him on the arm and glared half-heartedly at the immortal, “We may have come to an agreement, but let’s try and keep the bloody deaths to a minimum, please.”

Jack got to his feet and began to undo the buttons of his soiled shirt, “Ok, it’s a deal! But what are we gonna do about all of them out there? They look like they want to worship us rather than shoot us now, which I guess is a step up in the world…”

As Jack shrugged out of his button down, leaving him standing in a slightly less stained white undershirt, the Doctor cleared his throat awkwardly and stepped back a little. He dropped his eyes to the ground and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, we can’t exactly stop such a young species from having such beliefs. I doubt trying to explain it to them would change anything. I think all we can do is try to help them as best as we can…” the Doctor said, crossing his arms as he thought through the problem.

As the Doctor trailed off, there was a gentle knock at the door. M’Banthi’s head appeared in the doorway as she pushed her way through the rickety entrance. She was carrying a tray laden with what looked to be some dry wafers, cold meats and an assortment of strange fruit in a variety of shapes.

She smiled bashfully at them and moved to place the platter on the table, “My grandmother thought you might like some refreshments after performing your miracle.”

The Doctor tried to protest but M’Banthi had deposited the food and was back at the door before he could get very far, “When you are ready, she would like to speak with you both. But please, take your time!”

She bowed low again and swiftly departed.

Jack made his way over to the food platter and picked up a berry-like fruit, “You know, there may be some perks to this whole deity gig…”

“Don’t let it go to your head!” the Doctor scolded. As Jack went to pop the fruit in his mouth, the Doctor grabbed his hand and took the berry, placing it back on the platter. “Those people need this food more than you do.”

Jack sighed and turned away from the platter with a forlorn look. He gathered up his stained clothes and followed the Doctor towards the door of the hut. Time to face the adoring public, Jack thought. He just hoped they wouldn’t get crucified or something if things went sideways…


	7. Chapter 7

When Jack and the Doctor emerged from the hut, a fresh wave of murmuring swept through the villagers. Jack noted the Doctor’s frustrated sigh and followed behind the pinstriped man as he strode purposefully towards the central hearth, pointedly ignoring the people who bowed as they passed. As they reached the hearth, the small gathering of villagers parted to reveal Isaat, T’Mani and M’Banthi huddled together in deep conversation.

M’Banthi acknowledged their presence by rising to her feet and bowing. T’Mani shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact, while Isaat nodded her head respectfully.

“Where did they take the children?” the Doctor asked forcefully.

“They will have been taken to the city,” Isaat answered sadly. “Our youth are taken to be indoctrinated into the priesthood if tribute cannot be paid.”

“The head honcho said that the kids would be returned… do they ever come back?” Jack asked, almost fearing the answer.

M’Banthi answered in a tight voice, “There are rumours from other villages that sometimes they eventually return if the tribute can be paid, but only when they are older and…”

The Doctor narrowed his eyes as M’Banthi trailed off uncertainly, “What? What happens to them?”

“No one knows what happens in the priesthood,” M’Banthi continued hesitantly, “But if the youth return… people say they are not the same as when they left. It is said they are changed forever…”

The Doctor scowled fiercely into the flames burning in the hearth and growled, “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Isaat smiled thinly at his words, “We were hoping you would say that.”

“So, we gotta get into the city somehow,” Jack said, squaring his shoulders. He was itching to pay those sons of bitches back for taking those kids. And for shooting him in the head. He was definitely mad about that, too. “Won’t be easy, it’s probably crawling with guards and priests. But we will get those kids back, I promise you that.”

The Doctor turned away from the hearth and glanced at Jack with a small, approving smile. Jack felt warmth bloom inside his chest under the Doctor’s soft gaze, but the moment was broken by T’Mani clearing his throat and shifting uncomfortably.

“Sirs… I wanted to apologise for my harsh words when we met earlier,” he said quietly, wringing his hands, “The miracle that we witnessed here today was truly an honour to behold… and I must accept the wickedness currently shrouding this land…”

The elder trailed off and dropped his gaze back to the fire, eyes glistening with moisture.

M’Banthi shifted her weight and said sadly, “One of the children who was taken, Kaza… he is T’Mani’s grandson. My cousin.”

“Cousin? So, T’Mani and Isaat… you guys must be siblings?” Jack asked, glancing between the two elders.

Isaat nodded sagely, “He is my younger brother… and Kaza’s loss has affected our family greatly.”

Jack heard a sniffle from a woman standing a little way off. She was clearly one of M’Banthi’s rebels, as she had a blaster loosely clasped in her hands, but her face was stained with tears tracks.

“Kaza is all I have left of my son,” T’Mani wheezed, “He died in the mines trying to scrounge up enough tribute for the God King. I am sorry, Ivel, so sorry…”

The tear-stained rebel, clearly Kaza’s mother, came forwards and grasped T’Mani’s shoulders. The woman, Ivel, bent low to her father-in-law and rested her head against his, murmuring assurances in his ear. Jack glanced at the Doctor, whose hands were balled into fists at his sides. The grim line of his mouth told Jack that the people who took those children had just as much to fear from the Time Lord as from him, if not more. Jack was sure he could see the fire of the Oncoming Storm behind his eyes.

“We’ll get him back,” the Doctor declared. “But Jack is right, it’ll be tricky to get into the city. I don’t want to use my ship, she’s too dangerous if she fell into the wrong hands.”

“There might be another way in,” Isaat said. “When the tribute is collected, it is paraded through the city until the procession reaches the temple. A feast is then held in the God King’s honour, and it is one of the few times that he appears in public. He comes to the feast to accept, or reject, the tribute.”

M’Banthi nodded in agreement with her grandmother’s words, “It might be possible to sneak into the temple through the parade… but the party will be crawling with priests and all the elite citizens of Kafa will be in attendance.”

“Don’t worry, once we’re inside Jack and I will take it from there,” the Doctor declared.

“Well, we are coming with you,” M’Banthi replied, determined.

The Doctor shook his head, “No, it’ll be too dangerous. I don’t want any of you getting hurt.”

“It is our responsibility,” said Ivel, in a soft melodious voice. She straightened from where she had been quietly talking with T’Mani and adjusted her grip on the blaster. “I have to be there to get my son back.”

The Doctor huffed and opened his mouth to protest but Jack grasped him by the elbow and said quietly, “They could be useful if things go sideways. A couple extra pairs of hands could help keep the children safe while we’re dealing with the God King and the priests.”

The Doctor glared at Jack, but the immortal wouldn’t be cowed by that ancient gaze. He knew that the Doctor would be safer with backup, not to mention it would be easier to get the children back unharmed if everything went to shit. And besides, everything going to shit was always a distinct possibility with these kinds of operations.

“You know how I feel about guns, Jack,” the Doctor growled.

“Then don’t take any,” Jack argued. “But you know that having a few extra people will increase our odds of rescuing those kids safely.”

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair in frustration and sighed, “All right, fine! M’Banthi, choose a few of your best people and get cleaned up as best you can. Jack and I will sneak into the party as guests but you lot will have to pose as bodyguards or security to get inside.”

“How are we going to get to the city if we’re not taking the TARDIS?” Jack asked.

Isaat got to her feet and gestured to one of the animal pens just past the huts, “We have some rudimentary mounts to get you to the walls. They will not do if you are going to pose as guests, but they are sturdy enough to get to the gates. I also suggest that you attire yourselves in something a bit more formal if you can… your garments are strange but as long as you are presentable, they will let you in.”

“Thank you,” the Doctor said sincerely, clasping the wise woman’s shoulder briefly. “Jack and I will go and get cleaned up for the party. M’Banthi, I expect you and your rebels to be ready to go with the mounts as soon as possible.”

M’Banthi clasped her fist to her chest and bowed, before hurrying off to get everything ready. Jack and the Doctor turned to head back to the TARDIS and began the short walk back through the village. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack could see the furrowed brow of the Time Lord as he walked, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

“We’ll get them back,” Jack stated confidently. “I know we will. You and me, we got this!”

The Doctor smiled tightly at Jack as they approached the blue box, “I know we can do it. I just wish I could’ve stopped whatever happened to the others to make them change so much.”

As the Doctor reached to open the door, Jack grasped his hand on the door handle and gave a reassuring squeeze, “Hey, not everything in the universe is your fault you know.”

“I know,” he replied, watching where Jack’s hand covered his own. “But it is my responsibility.”

“No, it’s _our_ responsibility,” Jack countered, squeezing the Doctor’s hand again to punctuate his statement.

The Doctor gave him a small, lopsided smile and nodded appreciatively. He placed his other hand over Jack’s and patted it, before pushing through the wooden doors into the TARDIS.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet... and a little bit foxy!

As soon as they were inside the TARDIS, the Doctor told Jack to follow him to the ship’s wardrobe room.

“It’s shifted places since you were last here,” he said over his shoulder as they walked. “I’m sure there’ll be something in there that’s formal enough for a party.”

Even though he’d seen it before, Jack was still in awe at the sight of the towering wardrobe room. It was stuffed to the brim with spiralling racks of every type of wearable garment you could imagine, with metal platforms on each floor. The Doctor strode over to one of the ground floor racks and started rummaging around, muttering to himself the whole time.

“I think we’ll stick to Earth-style formal clothes,” the Doctor’s muffled voice came from where he was buried under a rack of hanging Earth dresses and suits. “I have no idea what kind of clothes the nobility of this planet wear at this time… Of course, later in their development they wear these long coats over multicoloured robes…”

As the Doctor rambled on, Jack dumped his blood-stained coat and button-down on the floor and began stripping off his combat boots. He was just peeling off his undershirt when the Doctor let out a joyful exclamation.

“Aha! I knew it was here somewhere,” he said, emerging from the clothing rack with a suit bag clutched in his arms. “This is the suit you wore that time we went to that 2000’s themed costume party in the 31st century. Remember? Rose wore an authentic 2005 denim dress and kept getting told that her look was all wrong! She couldn’t believe what they…”

The Doctor trailed off as he turned around to find Jack only wearing his underwear and folding his trousers. At the abrupt halt of words from the Time Lord, Jack looked up to find the Doctor staring at him like a deer in headlights and clutching the suit bag with white knuckles. Jack supposed it wasn’t often the Doctor turned around to find a nearly naked man in his wardrobe, so his surprise was understandable. The Doctor’s eyes seemed to roam over Jack’s flesh without him even realising it, and Jack noticed the alien’s ears turning pink at the tips.

Jack felt a salacious smirk tug at his lips as he deliberately turned and bent over to place his trousers on top of his boots, wiggling his hips slightly as he stood up. He turned back to the Doctor and approached the blushing Time Lord, who quickly dropped his gaze as Jack stopped in front of him.

“See something you like?” Jack asked seductively.

“Um…” the Doctor croaked awkwardly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Well, you know… I don’t think now is the best time to… ahem, what I mean to say is that, uh, you can wear this to the party and… um, maybe later… but ah…”

Jack decided to take pity on the Doctor as he tripped over his words like a flustered teenager. He took the garment bag, making sure to brush hands as he did so, and chuckled.

“Don’t worry, Doc,” Jack said, swinging the bag over his shoulder. “I know we’ve got work to do, but I do so love making you blush.”

The Doctor huffed a frustrated sigh and glared playfully, “You are impossible…”

Jack grinned and winked at the Doctor, “Thanks for saying so. Anyway, you should go get dressed too. I’d like to see you in a tux…”

As the Doctor moved towards the door, Jack gave him a playful slap on the behind as he passed. The Doctor made an undignified squawk and whirled around wide eyed.

“Jack!” he cried, scandalised.

Jack just laughed at the crimson flush colouring the Doctors’ cheeks and turned to get into his suit. He smiled as he heard the Doctor grumbling to himself about stray hands and 51st century libidos until he left the room.

When he was dressed, Jack regarded himself in the mirror and took in the dark grey checked suit he was wearing. It was a little tighter than the last time he had worn it to that party with Rose and the old Doctor, but he supposed he had matured since then. He had been so young… Jack shook himself out of thinking about old times and regarded his tie options. After a minute of deliberation over the frankly mind-boggling array of ties, Jack decided to forgo a tie altogether and instead unbuttoned the top of his shirt, just to tease the Doctor a little more. He regarded his gun, which was lying on the floor in its holster. Jack thought about leaving it behind but tucked it into the waistband of his trousers instead.

By the time he arrived back at the console room, the Doctor was tying his bow tie in the reflection of the blank TARDIS monitor. Jack whistled lowly upon seeing the Doctor in his deliciously tight black suit.

“You’ve been holding out on me, Doc! You look ravishing…”

The Doctor turned towards him with a raised eyebrow. Upon seeing Jack in his suit, he smiled softly, “You look pretty good yourself. You clean up nice, Captain!”

Jack smiled back, trying to calm the ridiculous butterflies in his belly at the compliment. He had thought he was well past feelings like that, but it seems the Doctor knew how to make him feel like a lovestruck kid.

“Thanks. You ready to go?” Jack asked, joining the Doctor at the console.

“Just about,” the Doctor replied. “There’s just one more thing…”

The Doctor hooked two fingers through a belt loop of Jack’s trousers and pulled the immortal towards him. He kissed Jack gently and ran his hands up Jack’s sides. Jack shivered and sighed at the sensation of those cool, dextrous fingers tracing his ribs and sliding around his waist. Just as he was raising his hands to the Doctor’s shoulders to pull the Time Lord closer, the Doctor pulled back with a raised eyebrow.

“I thought we agreed there would be no guns today,” he murmured.

“Huh?” Jack mumbled, confused.

The Doctor stepped away and held up the pistol that Jack had stuffed into his waistband at the small of his back. Jack grasped at the waistband of his trousers in surprise.

Jack chuckled wryly and shook his head, “I gotta say, I’m impressed Doctor! I never thought you’d play dirty.”

“You mean the way you have been for the last two weeks?” the Doctor challenged with a dry smile.

Jack held his hands up in defeat, “Okay, you got me. Sorry, I just can’t help myself!”

“I know,” the Doctor said, turning slightly more serious. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”

Jack nodded, “Well, I’m not going anywhere.”

The Doctor smiled softly and stowed the gun under the console, before buttoning his jacket and smoothing down the lapels. He moved towards the door and called over his shoulder, “Come on then! We’ve got some children to save.”


End file.
